Italian police Wednesday brought charges against eight men linked to Mafia syndicates from Italy and the US in New York and the Italian cities of Milan, Trapani and Matera. Details arising from the case have further confirmed alliances between US and Italian cartels that were first uncovered in a police operation in February.

President Giorgio Napolitano testified he did not know anything about secret talks between the state and the Mafia at a trial Oct. 28 in which the state is accused of cutting deals with the Mafia two decades ago, reports Deutsche Welle.

New Jersey officials charged 11 people -- among them a legendary Mafia boss -- with racketeering, loansharking, money laundering and other crimes, on Oct. 21, according to the New York Post. The group allegedly made millions through various mob scams, including a US$ 400 million money-laundering operation that involved illegally cashing large checks in a popular Portuguese restaurant in Newark.

A Spanish citizen belonging to Italy's 'Ndrangheta mafia has been arrested and four tons of cocaine seized in Colombia, in the latest illustration of the Italian organized crime group's presence in Latin America.

A newspaper in Colombia has reported a drugs-for-guns arrangement involving the country's two main guerrilla organizations and the Russian Mafia, in a case which highlights both the close relationship between the rebels and increasing influence of European organized crime.

Italian police and the FBI have arrested 17 people in Italy and seven in the United States during an operation that authorities say dismantled a drug-trafficking group. The operation, dubbed New Bridge, involved collaboration between the Italian crime syndicate ‘Ndrangheta and the New York- based Gambino family of the Mafia.

Europol will conduct an investigation into football match fixing by Russian organized crime groups, The Moscow Times reports.

In early February, Europol uncovered an Asian organized crime syndicate that operated a system of football match-fixing. The discovery has caused investigators to look into 680 football games around the world, 380 of them in Europe, and including the World Cup and European cup matches.

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić’s national security advisor has maintained contact with major organized crime figures since before 2008 when he entered government.

An internal government intelligence report shows that Ivica Toncev’s ties to organized crime were known to the prime minister. Yet, despite that knowledge and warnings from diplomats of several major countries, Toncev gained in power and responsibility.

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Center for Investigative Reporting in Serbia (CINS) was given access to a leaked report titled “Information on activities and contacts of Ivica Tončev” dating from mid-2012.